Her First Moonrise
by EndlessMoonrise
Summary: Feeling guilty for keeping her away from home, Rhydian is determined to help Maddy through her first transformation as best he can. Tonight it's his job to look after her, even if the full moon does still scare him a little bit... Rhydian's POV of full moon on Lindisfarn. Canon. Two-shot.
1. Chapter 1

**AN- Dedicated to my wonderful sister, only ten years old but can still out sass me any day of the week.**

 _ **Me: "Get down! What happens if you fall and hit you head?**_

 _ **Her: *Eyes me pointedly* "Well, that'll be an interesting day, won't it?" *Walks out.***_

 _ **Me: "Series 1, Episode 1, Lone Wolf."**_

 **Impossible to stay mad at her when she's quoting Wolfblood.**

 **Disclaimer- I do not own Wolfblood.**

 **...**

 **Her First Moonrise.**

 **Rhydian's POV.**

I watched Maddy closely as we climbed the bank away from the village, trying to figure out just how much trouble I was in.

I shouldn't have kept her from spending tonight at home, even if I had justified that the teachers would get her back, I shouldn't have chanced it... I should have known how important it was to her... I hadn't fully understood it at the time, I didn't have 'parents' so to speak. I hadn't been in one placement longer than six months since I was twelve, 'parents' came and went, and I didn't let myself form lasting relationships with any of them, after all I only needed them until I aged out of the care system.

Spending tonight with her parents had been important to Maddy, her parents were important to her in a way I'd personally never experienced, and as she so rightly put it, in that infuriating, yet strangely endearing Geordie accent. ' _I'd gone and ruined it.'_

The only memory I had of my first transformation was the overwhelming feeling of fear as I watched my hands turn to claws... It was the first time since I was eight that I'd wanted my mum... My real mum... And I'd taken Maddy away from hers...

"You coming?" I hadn't realised that I'd stopped walking until she spoke, she stood about five paces ahead looking down at me.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry Mads... I shouldn't have..."

"Your not freaking out on me now, are you?" She cut me off, walking back over to my side and smiling softly. "Forget about it, what's done is done." She reassured.

"I don't want you to be scared, you would have felt safer at home wouldn't you?" I said quietly

"I'm nervous" She admitted. "But I'm not frightened, like you said, you'll look after me."

I grimaced. "Like _you_ said, I've only done this twice... Both times..." I trailed off, shaking my head and pulling nervously at my sleeves, I didn't exactly have any fond memories to share for either transformation.

She watched me closely and I tried to shy away from her gaze. "You're scared aren't you?" I looked away, I had been excited for this full moon, excited to spend it with another wolf, with Maddy, but now, with the change so close, all those bad memories from the last two full moons were all coming back to me... Losing control... Sitting alone in the dark that second time, just waiting for the wolf to take hold... The pain as I tried to resist turning... "Talk." She said simply

She did this sometimes, it was her way of getting me to open up whenever I tried to go back to blocking people out, since she knew I'd rather stay quiet than have the spotlight on myself. Part of me wanted to talk to her, because at the end of the day she was the only person that understood, and wouldn't lock me in the nuthouse... but to push all my fears onto her, just seconds before her first change. "Do we really have time for this?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

She laughed. "As me mam would say to me dad, you better hurry up if you don't want t'end it growling." It took me a moment to decipher that particularly Geordie sentence, since her dialect still threw me a little sometimes.

There was so much I could say, but in the end I picked one sentence I thought summed things up pretty well. "Last month... I tried to hide under one of the rock faces up on the moors... I thought that maybe if the moonlight couldn't hit me, if I couldn't see full moon, I wouldn't be forced to turn." She was quiet for a few moments, but even though she tried to hide it, I could see the pity in her eyes, I turned away, scuffing my toe in the dirt. This is why I didn't tell her, it made me sound pathetic.

She nudged me softly with her shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "It'll be alright, Rhydian. I'll look after you." She said finally, the side of her mouth lifting in a smirk. "We'll look after each other. You know what you are now, tonight's going to be fine, and I want you to enjoy it too."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I thought I was supposed to be the one reassuring you, not the other way around."

She gave me one of those looks, the one I'd just about figured out meant she thought I was being an idiot. "We're going to have fun." She said decidedly, nodding up the bank as she walked. "Come on, we're going to watch the moon, this time you don't have to be afraid of it, this time it's a good thing.."

I scoffed and jogged after her.

Once we reached the highest point on the bank, the moon finally came into sight, just watching as it slowly made its way out from behind the clouds made the wolf restless, but rather than the dread that followed both times before this, I did as Maddy told me to, I let myself enjoy it.

It felt strange at first, to feel the wolf in my veins but not the anger and the fear, the two had always come hand in hand with me, the pull the moon had on the wolf was irresistible though and I could feel the change getting closer and closer. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Maddy look up at me so I looked over at her, she didn't speak, but I could tell she was checking on me. I nodded ever so slightly to reassure her, and she smiled, I couldn't help but smile back.

We turned back to look out at the sky again, mesmerised by the source of that incredible feeling that was starting to pump its way through us... Right here, right now, I couldn't remember what I'd been so scared of.

With the wolf so close to the surface, our senses were heightened, I could feel it when Maddy's excitement turned to nerves, and looked down at her, she was staring down at her hands as her veins started to turn black, and the wolf ran through her. I reached out and gently turned her towards me, slipping my hand into hers, and giving her the support I wished I'd had two months ago, I was going to stick by my word and look after her.

She looked down at our hands then up at me, and I was so glad she did, because at that exact moment her eyes turned, and I was met with those eyes, the same yellow eyes that held mine that first day in the dark room at Bradlington high. I'd seen them only a handful of times since, during her panic in that maths exam, then again during the fire in the science lab on the same day, but this time was so much better. This time she wasn't glaring, or frightened or worried... This time they were just Maddy's eyes.

We both turned back to the moon once again, it was kind of hard not to when it was right there and your whole body felt as though you were being drawn towards it, I found the whole experience more enjoyable now that I wasn't fighting it.

Maddy's hand tightened around mine and she whimpered ever so slightly, her body rocking back and forth and her muscles tightening, I knew that feeling... she glanced up at me in panic, veins beginning to reach up into her cheeks, but what caught my attention more was her scent, as her veins grew darker it became more prominent. She smelt less human and more like... Well her parents... I had to fight hard not to laugh at that, though it would have come out more of a bark at this point, now wasn't the time.

I pulled my hand from hers and reached around press one against the back of her neck and the other against her waist, urging her down to her knees then into a crouch, that had been the bit I'd struggled with the first time, it was difficult to interpret what your body wanted you to do for the first change. I rearranged her hands slightly to make her more comfortable, before standing back to let her transform.

She growled softly under her breath and slowly began to take her wolf form...

She was beautiful... Small just like her human self, she stood around mid thigh, her coat was long and smooth and took on the same earthy brown colour her hair had been. She panted, shuffling around a little awkwardly as she tried to get a good look at herself and I watched her fondly.

My thoughts were starting to jumble together as the wolf rushed through me, but I managed to make some of them out... When her wolf eyes met mine I knew, I knew right then that I'd broken my number one rule, don't let anyone close, because I'd never be able to push Maddy Smith away... I don't think I ever wanted to.

She lifted her paws up to see them and I smiled softly at her before my eyes were pulled back to the moon, I wish they weren't, Maddy was so much more interesting to watch. She howled softly, and by the way she looked up in shock, I honestly think she'd just forgotten she couldn't talk.

She looked up at me and the urge to crouch took over, but this time I didn't resist it, and I felt all the more better for that. The last two times I'd pressed my back up against the wall and fought it, the more you resisted the more it hurt, it made white hot pain sear though your spine and your hands and mouth throbbed like someone was taking a hammer to them, until eventually you doubled over in pain anyway... I didn't feel that this time, this time the change felt nice... natural.

Maddy turned her face towards mine, she was so close now that I could now see the small flecks of white fur that framed her face. I looked down at the ground and let the wolf take over. To be able to take wolf form and still feel so calm was a foreign feeling to me, I didn't feel like I had to take off or get ready to fight, I felt peaceful. I looked over at Maddy, a little unsure how to interact with her now we both had a wolf form, I didn't know if the human boundaries still stood, I didn't know how to behave with another wolf at all, this was the part Maddy understood better than I did. She nudged her head softly against mine almost as if she was answering me so I nudged her back.

She was a little unsteady on her feet, which I think was natural, because I'd been the same way. Getting all four paws to work simultaneously was a bit difficult at first, and it wasn't helped by the fact that the rocks we were on sloped downwards, lifting our back legs above our front ones. I moved around so she could move to flatter ground, staying close just incase she fell.

She nuzzled against my face gently and I stayed statue still while she did. I don't think I'd ever been this close to another person before... Another wolf... She moved around until there was room on the flatter rock for both of us. As I turned the long, island beaches in the distance caught my eye. That almost constant urge to run was there, but I quelled it, sitting down beside Maddy and urging her to sit with me, letting her get used to her new form.

I lowered my head down, closer to her height and she turned to nuzzle against me again, nudging her nose against my jaw, before we both turned to look out at the moon once again. She was entranced by it, but I had to admit most of my attention was on her, and I was just as entranced...

She tilted her head back and howled and as much as I wanted to join in, I let her have this one for herself.

I hadn't howled before, I didn't have anyone to howl with or to before tonight, but I found that with her howling, it was hard not to do it with her. I waited for her to finish before howling back to her, she joined in with a different pitch to that we sort of harmonised and it sounded amazing.

She shuffled restlessly and nudged at my face some more, but I got the message, she didn't want to sit still anymore. I moved around so that I was closest to the cliff edge, since I still didn't trust her footing, and herded her away onto the bank.

Now she was purposely trying to walk I could see just how wobbly she was, she tipped and swayed and basically looked a little drunk, so I moved at press my side against hers so she could lean on me. She watched my legs as we walked, syncing her steps with mine until she could lift her weight off me. She made a noise then, a happy one I think, since I didn't have much to judge it on, and trotted off by herself.

The expression, 'Don't run before you can walk' came to mind only seconds before her tail got caught between her back legs and she tripped over it. I let out a sound like a bark, which I assumed meant amusement, since I would have been laughing if I was human. She scrambled to her feet, and twisted around quickly, looking for her tail as though she'd just realised she had one, her feet tangled together and she toppled over again.

I remembered one time in one of my care homes, when the little kids were watching Bambi and the deer was trying to walk on the ice with the rabbit, she kinda reminded me of that. I bark/laughed again and she gave me what looked like a wolf glare.

I took pity on her and ran over to her side, crawling under her and pushing myself up to help her stand. She found her feet and pranced off excitedly again and I ran after her, she spun around and swayed but stayed standing. I watched in confusion as she lowered herself down, kind of like a bow and growled at me. At first I thought I'd done something wrong but then I noticed her tail was wagging. I turned my head to the side, trying to tell her I didn't understand, but she jumped on me, tackling me to the floor.

It wasn't until she began nipping at me, not biting, that I realised that this was a play fight. I turned, using my front paws to push her down, and we tumbled around together on the grass. The more excited she got the rougher she became, and I don't think she realised that some of the nips were actually starting to really hurt. I remembered reading somewhere that pups learnt how hard to bite others while they were in the litter, because their litter mates would yelp when they bit too hard, I guessed that that was the only way I was going to get the message through so when she bit my neck a little too hard, I tried it.

I don't think I'd ever see her back away faster, her head dropping down guiltily. I got up and nuzzled her face hesitantly. Trying to tell her that yes it had hurt, but not to worry, I was alright. We stood for a moment, panting quietly, we were going to have to work on the whole communication thing. I nudged her head with mine, putting my teeth by her neck and pinning her down before running off towards the lime kilns...

* * *

Okay, so running away from Tom and Shannon wasn't exactly part of the plan, we'd been so close to being caught. Knocking them over was a dangerous thing to do, so many things could have gone wrong... But that didn't mean I didn't have fun doing it. That was the thing with the full moon, it made us reckless, dangerous things became our next adrenaline rush.

Maddy and I ran towards the beach, both giddy with excitement, we'd have be laughing if we were in human form but as it was we were wagging our tails and bounding through the long grass banks. I skidded to a stop and crouched low, hiding from her. I listened as she continued to dart through the grass, she was so caught up in the new scents and sounds it took her nearly thirty seconds to realise I was missing, when she finally did she froze. Her ears pricking up to listen before she dropped her muzzle to the floor and began sniffing.

She tracked my scent back, but I kept moving, circling her until I managed to creep up behind her. I stepped softly and silently until I was close enough to nip her tail with my teeth. She yelped and spun around, so I turned and took off towards the shore with her hot on my tail.

I yipped excitedly and scampered onto the sand but instead of chasing me Maddy clung to the grass banks, skirting the edge, she looked reluctant to step closer. I turned my head to the side in question and she shifted awkwardly on her paws, whining softly and jerking her head back towards the mainland. I was confused but went back over to her, I wasn't sure what was wrong but she refused to get any closer to the sand so I stayed with her.

We trekked and explored well into the night sniffing around in the rocks and ruins, we wrestled and raced and chased each other all around the island until we were panting in exhaustion. Finally when we couldn't run anymore we found a small nook hidden in the hills and cliffs, and settled down.

The moon was starting to descend towards the horizon and the sky was lightening but we still had around two hours of full moon left, it was around about now that the rush started to wear off and your body seemed to remember that you hadn't slept in nearly twenty four hours. I lay down resting my head on my paws and Maddy followed my example.

There were things I wanted to do, cuddle against her, take in her scent, but I didn't know whether they were acceptable, even in wolf form. I licked her muzzle gently and waited nervously for her response, I wasn't sure how close that was to a kiss in wolf terms, wolves licked each other all the time right?

She watched me for a few moments before shuffling closer and curling up against my side. I nuzzled her jaw and she turned her face towards me, I found myself nipping her ears gently, I wasn't sure why I did it but it felt right. She returned the gesture and I curled myself around her to keep her warm before resting my head by hers.

* * *

When I woke up, I was human. Maddy and I had cuddled up to each other during our sleep and she was pressed against me, her face hidden against my neck and legs tangled with mine. I shifted awkwardly, I couldn't remember being this close to someone before, and there was something about her scent now, that deep, earthy, wolf scent that was making my thoughts go haywire.

I found myself noticing the curve of her hips and legs, and the dip of her waist. The way her chest pressed against mine...those lips and those wide, expressive eyes... I scrubbed at my face and put the arm that wasn't under Maddy's head across my eyes. The last thing I needed right now was a crush.

Up until now, I'd liked Maddy as a friend, yes. That sense of humour and that quick wit, same qualities I had if I let my guard down enough. I cared about her and I liked her as a person, but I hadn't liked her in that way. She'd gotten pretty much the same reaction as any other pretty human girl had since my first transformation... Nothing. Back when I was more human, Maddy would have been exactly my type, dark hair, dark eyes, but after that first change there'd been one more feature that no other girl had. A wolf.

Maddy had just gained that feature... And boy did it look good on her.

It was a bit of a shock to the system, to like a girl after two months of being so indifferent, and apparently that merited me turning into a hormone driven mess. I shook my head. I was being such a teenager.

I pulled away slightly, untangling my legs from hers and calming myself down. The sun was only just starting to rise, and I knew that now we were human, now would be the best time to sneak back into the hotel, while everyone was still asleep. I shook her shoulder gently. "Maddy... Time to get up, Mads."

I sat up, pulling her with me. Her head lolled backwards so I put a hand at the back of her neck to support it. She blinked rapidly, eyes darting around until they rested on mine, It was only then that I realised that they were still yellow, she still had black veins in her cheeks and her teeth and hands hadn't transformed back either. I could tell she was still half asleep, that first change took a lot out of you. I also remembered how hard it had been for me to fully change back the first time. The wolf was reluctant to hide away, especially after it had just been let free.

She shivered against the cold, now that we didn't have our fur coats or each other to keep us warm, my teeth started to chatter as well. She grumbled sleepily and whimpered, hiding herself against my chest again. I shook my head, I'd have to help her calm the wolf inside, it was too cold out here, and we needed to get inside before people started to wake up.

"Come on." I urged her, standing and pulling her to her feet, she stumbled around, a little disorientated and I scoffed. "Don't tell me you've lost your human legs." It was difficult to switch back and forth between the two at first, and she did seem pretty tired, but I enjoyed teasing her. She turned to try and shove me playfully but lost her footing, landing flat on her butt. She groaned and lay back down on the grass, curling up. "Maddy, you need to walk back to the castle, that's all I ask." I laughed.

She growled at me and turned away, so I finally gave in and picked her up, carrying her back. "You're really not a morning person, huh?" I jostled her in my arms to get a better hold on her and she pressed her cold nose against my neck.

I carried her quietly through the empty corridors until we reached the closet where my bed had been set up, I opened the door and slipped inside, lowering Maddy down again. She rubbed at her eyes and seemed to realise for the first time that she still wasn't fully turned back. She stared at her hands with wide eyes before looking up at me in panic, she opened her mouth to speak but all she could do was whimper. "It's alright. It took me a while the first time as well." I tried to reassure. "I didn't get home until eleven o'clock the next night because I couldn't lose the eyes, that's probably another reason why they kicked me out." I tried to joke.

She whimpered some more and I realised I probably wasn't helping with that last part. "You're better at this than I was though, and I didn't have a clue what I was doing then anyway." I shrugged out of my coat and sat beside her on the bed. I took her clenched fists, or rather claws at this point, rubbing her knuckles, wrists and palms gently between my thumb and forefinger until her grip loosened and the veins in her hands receded. She was starting to become groggy again so I turned her around and pulled her back against my chest, reaching around to press my fingers against her jaw.

I'd found out early on that the best way to calm down the teeth, was to work the tension out of your jaw, if she was clenching her teeth they'd never turn back. I waited until the veins in her cheeks disappeared before stroking her hair away from her face she leaned back to put her head on my shoulder, asleep again. "Really not a morning person." I laughed and lay back on the bed with her, we slept most of the night side by side anyway, and I couldn't bear to wake her up again. She mumbled happily and hid her face against my neck one more time. I pressed my nose to her hair and drifted off back to sleep in seconds.

 **AN- Thanks for reading! Like I said in the summary, this will be a two-shot, the next chapter dealing with the changes in the relationship between the two cubs now that they're both fully Wolfblood. Since I think you can tell they become a lot closer after 'Occam's Razor.' The next chapter should be up within the next week or so.**

 **Please let me know what you think, I got so many lovely reviews for my last story and I love to hear your opinions!**

 **-EndlessMoonrise X**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN- And here's part two! thanks for all the support for part one, you guys are great!**

 **Disclaimer- I do not own Wolfblood.**

 **Rhydian's POV**

I jolted awake at the light knock on the door, Maddy, who still lay asleep on my chest stirred and tried to pull the covers up over her head. I sniffed the air quickly to figure out who was behind the door and huffed, Tom and Shannon. I shook Maddy awake and she groaned in protest so I put a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. She opened her eyes which had now settled back to hazel and glared at me.

I pointed at the door with my free hand and mouthed. 'Tom and Shannon.' She froze, so I shoved her off the make shift camp bed, onto the floor, and pushed the covers on top of her, I heard her crawl under the bed with the covers tucked around her and had to stop myself from laughing, Maddy was probably the only fourteen year old small enough to fit under there.

They knocked on the door again and I ran over. I opened it just enough to peer though but Shannon just watched me until I stepped out from behind it. She walked into the cupboard and I had to silently beg her not to move around to the other side of the bed. "Where were you last night?"

I frowned between her and Tom who was stood in the door way, and tried to act dumb. "What?"

"Shannon has this idea..." He started but Shannon cut him off.

"You were there Tom, you know I'm right!" She said sternly.

I continued with my dumb, half asleep act, as I tried to come up with lies and excuses to cover mine and Maddy's tracks. "Right about what?"

"Maddy was out all night, and you went with her, we followed the sound of the howling to the lime kiln and there was something there... We think..."

"You think." Tom corrected her.

"I think... Maddy changed last night, became something else, and you know about it."

Why did Maddy have to have such crazy smart friends?! "What are you talking about?!"

"Something knocked Tom over, it wasn't human." She said simply.

I shook my head "Well it could have been a... dog..." I struggled, perhaps that was a little too close to the truth. "Or a fox..." Not much better, but Tom nodded in agreement, which made me feel a little more confident. "Or a bunch of local kids who thought you were that.. Ghost.. Dog..." I cringed, again with the dog! "It could have been anything." I said finally, giving up with the lies, I would have been so much better at this if Maddy wasn't less than three feet away under the bed.

"And where was Maddy all night." She asked, cocking her head slightly toward the side of the room where Maddy was hidden. I swear this girl could read minds!

"Well I've got an idea, let's ask her." I said, desperate to get them out now.

Shannon watched me evenly, and I felt as though she was just waiting for me to crack. I remained composed, a skill I'd developed with years and years of practice and stared her out. "Fine." She turned on her heel and walked out, and I watched her dumbfounded. Tom scoffed and followed after her. I realised I had go with them so walked out and closed the door after me.

"Thanks a lot!" Maddy hissed and I smirked.

"Anyone asks, you slept on the sofa." I whispered through the door, and jogged after the other two.

"You need to limp!" She whisper shouted. I huffed and feigned my twisted ankle again, wondering how long I would have to keep this up. I guess that was the price I'd have to pay for faking it in the first place.

* * *

"How's the ankle Rhydian?" Jefferies clapped my shoulder and moved to sit in the chair opposite us at breakfast. "That kind of injury is always worse in the morning, all the muscles swell and seize up."

Maddy scoffed but I put on my best 'feel sorry for me' face. "Yeah, Sir. Still twinges a bit, I'll be alright though."

"Good." He smiled. "Let hope you're all fixed up for detention Monday night."

"What?" I asked, breaking the act. "Detention! What for?!"

"Stupid and reckless behaviour. I trusted you all to behave sensibly and maturely and you go and pull a stunt like that?! What if you'd hit your head? Been knocked out? There's no doctors on this island Rhydian, the tide would have come in before an ambulance could get here and you'd have been air lifted to hospital!"

Maddy laughed but I ignored her. "A bit melodramatic, sir!" I protested

He shook his head. "What would I have told your mum and dad?"

"I don't have a mum or dad." I deadpanned, I didn't take the comment personally, most of the time with teachers, my living arrangements just slipped their minds.

"Your foster parents." He corrected guiltily. Good.

"Substitute parents." I corrected him anyway, I hated the term 'foster parents.' It implied that these people actually cared for me, I'd leant from experience that most of them didn't, at least not enough to keep me any longer than a few weeks.

"Rhydian, it was a stupid and immature thing to do."

"And you don't think I've suffered enough?" I gestured to my perfectly fine ankle, before glaring at Maddy who was still finding the whole thing hilarious. "This is just adding insult to injury."

"What injury?" Maddy muttered under her breath and I kicked her shins.

Mr Jefferies stood, watching me evenly. "Monday night please, Rhydian." I glared at his back as he walked away... He paused mid step and turned around, so I tried hard to pretend I wasn't glaring. "What's that on your neck."

I frowned, bringing a hand up to my neck which hurt when I pressed my fingers to it. "Oww."

Maddy glanced over, her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh my..." Mr Jefferies looked between the two of us, rolled his eyes and walked off.

Maddy shook her head at me, eyes apologetic. "I'm so sorry."

"For what?" I asked, pressing my fingers to my neck again. "Oww! Seriously what is that?"

She hid her face in her hands. "You know how we were play fighting last night...?" She trailed off. "It looks like some sort of..."

Tom and Shannon sat down opposite us with their bags and coats and Tom narrowed his eyes at the hand at my neck. "Is that a hickey?"

I felt myself blush and rubbed at my neck nervously. "No!" I said, perhaps a little too quickly. "I...uhh?" I cleared my throat

"He must have knocked it when he fell yesterday." Maddy said swiftly, smiling sweetly at her friends. "Hey." She looked up at me. "Do you need some help packing away?"

She eyed me pointedly, so I played along. "Yeah, would you mind?"

She stood and hurried out, so I hobbled after her until we turned out of sight and jogged the rest of the way. She stopped me in the corridor and reached up to my neck, turning my head to the side. "You can hardly see it in this light, that's why no one noticed this morning." She shook her head. "Why didn't you stop us sooner?"

I held out my hands in defeat. "Why'd you bite me so hard?" She pushed against the sore spot just behind my ear and I winced, pushing her hands away. "Maddy, you might not be able to see it, but I can sure feel it! That hurt!"

She rolled her eyes at me. "Don't be such a cub."

"Oh... And sorry Rhydian, you know, for chewing on your neck." I promoted her.

"Now who's being melodramatic?... _Your_ lucky, now Tom, Shan and Jefferies think I gave you a hickey." She whispered the last word, her cheeks tinged red in embarressment.

"You did give me a hickey!"

She threw her hands up. "Not intentionally!" She shoved me roughly and I shook my head at her, unable to keep from laughing, this whole situation was ridiculous. Finally Maddy laughed with me. "Why'd you have to go and bruise so easily." She groaned.

"So now it's my fault?" I chuckled. "How am I supposed to explain it to Mr and Mrs Vaughn? If you thought a lecture from your parents was bad..."

She grimaced and bit her lip. "It'll have faded by tomorrow, we never do brusie for long this close to full moon... I could ask mam if you could stay over tonight..."

"So we're going to explain this to _your_ parents?" I laughed.

"At least we can tell them the truth." She reasoned.

"I guess you're right." I smirked.

She sighed and nudged me with with her shoulder. "Come on, we have to be at the bus in ten... Please put your coat on so no one sees...do you know how many people think we're going out?"

I shrugged, walking towards the cupboard where I'd left my rucksack. "It's the K's, all I have to do is _look_ at a girl and suddenly I'm going out them. Anyway as long as they think I'm going out with you, they stop hitting on me."

She batted my chest. "I wouldn't put it past them, a town like this, they only get a new lad to swoon over every decade or so." She laughed.

* * *

"…I spy with my little eye… something…. beginning with…"

I laughed. "Come on Mads, I spy?"

She huffed and swung her legs up onto the chair in front. "Rhydian, I'm bored!" She whined. "I need to run!"

I rolled my eyes. "We've been on the bus less than ten minutes, you do realise it takes over an hour to get home?" She threw her head back against the headrest and groaned, and I resisted the urge to tell her it got worse, a lot worse over the next few days.

"Rhydian..?" The voice called from behind me.

I grimaced and sighed, plastering on a fake smile before turning to look between the seats. "Kara?" I asked, between the three of them the K's must have been able to round up some make up, because they were all as done up as usual.

She smiled smugly and leaned forward. "Me and the girls were talking last night, and they say, that out of the three of us, you said I was the prettiest."

Maddy began laughing at my misfortune and I turned to glare at her quickly before turning back. "That's... not exactly what I said…" I stuttered awkwardly.

"Well… who do you think's the prettiest?"

I frowned and shook my head. "No one."

She laughed quietly. "You must like one of us more than the others…"

"No."

Maddy continued to laugh and Kara glared at her. "Its not that funny, freak." I scowled at her, I didn't like her making fun of Maddy.

Maddy pushed me to the side and glared through the gap in the seats. "What's funny is that you're hitting on him now, with that… awful spot on your forehead... In fact, all of you could really use some cleanser."

"What?!" She asked, horrified, and slapped her hand to her forehead. the K's started chattering amongst themselves and pulling little mirrors out of their bags.

Maddy sat back and sniggered and I realised she was doing a great job at winding them up. "Well done." I laughed

Kara huffed and I heard her mirror snap shut. She peered back through the seats. "Nice try." She told Maddy. "Seriously though Rhydian, who is the prettiest?"

Maddy groaned. "Leave him alone would ya?"

"Maddy's the prettiest." I answered finally, shutting them all up. I knew they'd never leave me alone unless I gave them an answer, and I didn't fancy answering with one of the K's, I'd never live it down.

"Ehhh… She's not a K."

"Even better." I told her. She looked mildly offended before sitting back in her seat and put her earphones in, ignoring me. Finally! I turned back to face forward and was met by Maddy raising an eyebrow. I shrugged. "Had to tell them something, you don't mind do you?"

She smirked. "No… It's you that they're gonna attack with their eyelash curlers."

"Is that even a thing?"

She laughed quietly and shook her hands out to try and rid herself of the post moon energy. "You know, I thought lads loved lasses hitting on them. You…" She pointed at me. "You get all nervous."

I frowned. "I don't like any of them."

"None of us Geordie lasses to your type?" She teased, nudging me with her shoulder.

I scoffed. "You really want to talk about this?"

She shrugged, bringing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. "Why not? I'm intrigued… and extremely bored!"

I sighed, I guess talking to her was better than hearing her complain the whole trip back. "None of these 'Geordie lasses' are exactly my species, are they?"

She frowned in confusion. "What does that matter?"

I laughed nervously. "You're probably too young to have noticed yet. The… Wolf." I lowered my voice. "It has a pretty big impact on... Well you know…"

She laughed. "You mean, we just… stop liking humans all together?..You're yanking my tail."

I shook my head. "I've got nothing against Geordie girls, its just that humans aren't my type… Try it…" I urged her. "Think of… I don't know Johnny Depp… or Leonardo DiCaprio… whoever you females find attractive."

"Us females?" She scoffed, then went quiet, deep in thought, she frowned a few moments later.

"You don't like them anymore, do you?" I smirked. She smiled shyly and shook her head, turning away. "Well, it was the same for me, after my first transformation, I didn't really notice girls like I did before. "

She froze, then turned back to me. " _Didn't?_ "

I cringed, I'd really put my foot in it this time. "Don't." I tried to correct anyway.

There was a few seconds of tense silence, before she giggled quietly. "Nice to know." I looked away from her nervously. Great, now I had to spend the whole trip with her knowing what she did… She rolled her eyes and me and nudged my shoulder with hers playfully. "It's not like I couldn't tell anyway... the way you were looking at me last night..." She laughed.

"It's just a silly crush." I muttered, not liking how personal this conversation was getting. This was why I just kept quiet, as soon as I opened my mouth I seemed to always say something stupid. "I'll get over it…" I reassured her.

* * *

"Sorted." I told Maddy as I shoved my phone into my jacket pocket. "Mrs Vaughn says I can stay tonight as long as I'm back for lunchtime... my social worker is visiting, checking to see how I'm 'settling in.'" I explained.

"Great." She blushed. "Should be enough time for that bruise to fade."

I scoffed, rubbing at my neck, and she shoved me backwards. I collided with Liam who scowled at us and threw two books in our direction. I narrowed my eyes at his back in confusion as as he walked away. "What are these?"

"Worksheet prizes." He called back without turning around.

I looked down at Maddy, who looked equally confused. "We didn't do the worksheet..."

She glanced down at the books in my hands and snorted. "It's Jefferies book, 'Religion on medieval Lindisfarn.'" She grabbed one and turned it so I could see Jefferies portrait on the back and I couldn't help but laugh along with her. We flicked though the pages, not reading it, just looking at the pictures. "Look." She pointed. "There's the ruins... and the lime kilns... that's where we transformed." She sighed wistfully. "...That was amazing." I smiled down at her, glad she'd enjoyed herself, it meant I'd done my job. "I so get it now." She smirked at me knowingly, rocking from foot to foot. "Being a Wolfblood's gonna be so great..." Her eyes twinkled with mischief. "Come on." She nodded her head towards the back gate, and I followed her.

* * *

We ran all the way from school to Maddy's house, with last nights buzz still pumping through us, and after hobbling along all morning it felt great to finally let loose.

Maddy shoved my shoulder as she sprinted past me. "Tag! You're it!" She twisted around to jog backwards, still managing the dodge the trees and fallen branches.

"Tag?" I laughed. "How old are you?"

"You're never too old for tag." She told me, then scoffed. "Me mam and dad still play tag."

I chuckled, shaking my head, before lunging towards her, she jumped backwards out of reach so I went for her again. She laughed and turned darting off towards her house so I ran after her

She pushed the door open and teared through it, making her parents jump. She giggled giddily as we chased each other around the sofa. "Hey, calm down you two." Her dad laughed.

I pretended to change direction before jumping over the back of it. She squealed and tried to bolt, knocking a glass off the coffee table in the process. "Maddy!" Her mum shouted.

I grabbed the glass before it hit the floor and snatched her wrist in my other hand. "Tag!" I laughed, pushing her down to the sofa and taking the glass over to the kitchen, I rinsed it out and grabbed a tea towel to dry it with.

Maddy's mum stared at me wide eyed. "Where'd you learn to do that?" I frowned at her, not sure what she was getting at. She nodded towards the glass in my hands. "Can you teach Madeline how to do that?"

"Mam!" Maddy complained at the use of her full name and I laughed.

"After being thrown from placement to placement, you learn to fend for yourself, I guess it's a habit." I shrugged. "The Vaughn's, the Tyler's, the Harris'." I rattled off my last three substitute families and frowned. "They're not my parents, I don't expect them to clear up after me, I wouldn't want them to." I murmured. In my eyes I was more of a lodger. Washing my dishes, doing my laundry, clearing up after myself, the more I did to act like I wasn't there, the better. They were less likely to get rid of me that way.

I placed the towel back in the drawer and stored the glass back in the cupboard. I could feel Emma Smith's eyes on me and tried to ignore it, but then she reached up and turned my head to the side, laughing. "Nice one Mads."

Maddy huffed. "Can't hide anything from a Wolfblood."

Maddy's mum caught Mr Smith's eye and nodded down at the bruise on my neck. "At least we didn't have to deal with the over excited cub. Can you imagine explaining that to one off your buyers?"

Mr Smith scoffed and turned my head again, and I tried not to cringe away from the contact. They always had been very touchy feely, but I guess it came with being wolves, I just wasn't used to it yet. "Madeline, the poor boy's black and blue!"

"Alright! Alright! lets all make fun of the new wolf." She walked over and grabbed my arm, tugging me away.

"Wolf?!" Her mum scoffed. "Only cubs give accidental hickeys!" She called after us, and I smirked

Maddy pulled us into her room and slammed the door. "Stop calling it that!"

 **AN- There we have it! You guys will be pleased to know that this two shot has inspired another idea, which I'm really looking forward to writing and will be starting it next. I thought about adding it to this but decided it didn't really fit the title. Anyway, let me know what you thought of this, I always love hearing your feedback and after all your encouragement is what fuels more stories!**

 **Please Please Review!**

 **-EndlessMoonrise X**


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